Unexpected Threat
by Sephron
Summary: Hermione makes a new friend: Terran. Despite her optimistic feel, she's hiding something dangerous from them, and they want to know what it is. Little slow in the beginning. May not be continued, depends on reviews, please read.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I own nothing except Terran and a few stray spells. :Sadness: It's depressing…

Cold air wafted across the exposed pale cheek. The sleeping blond grunted in her sleep and pulled the blanket over her head in a daft attempt to halt her waking mind. After a moment of loosing the battle she flung her arm down to her hip, taking the quilt with her and exposing her face to a blast of chilled air, lightly scented with sausage, blueberry pancakes and cinnamon waffles. Allured by the thought of breakfast although her stomach wasn't quite awake yet, Terran kicked the blanket down to the end of her four-poster bed and rolled over, shoving her face into her pillow and exhaling with sleep still thick in her mind.

Finally, almost grudgingly, Terran braced herself on her forearm and threw her legs over the bed. Stumbling she stood and pulled a pair of jeans and a black T-shirt out of her drawer and grabbed the robe that was hanging from her bed. Rubbing her eyes she dragged her feet out of the room and down the stairs to the level just below the common room, where the showers and bathrooms stood waiting.

She entered a stall lazily, thumped her clothes down on the bench attached to the wall and turned on the shower, allowing the water to heat as she stripped down.

"Oh, crap. I left the brush…" She begrudgingly pulled her shirt and pajama pants back on before exiting her stall once more. Taking a deep breath she exhaled, then moved quickly to the door, which swung open suddenly and smacked Terran in the forehead.

"Ow!" She flopped backwards, landing harshly on her bum and brushing her fingers over her eyebrow where the door had come in contact with.

"Oh! Goodness I'm sorry!" Standing in the doorway was a shorter girl with brown bushy hair clutching her clothes to her chest. "Are you all right?"

Terran glanced up before standing. "Yeah, I'm fine." But upon bringing her fingers down into her sight she saw then streaked with blood. "Oh." She stood, accidentally wiping the red substance on the tile below her.

"Goodness, you're bleeding!" The brunette came forward to get a closer look.

"It's okay, I'll wash it in the shower."

"Are you sure?" Upon seeing Terran nod she extended her hand. "I'm terribly sorry. I'm Hermione Granger."

"Ah. I'm Terran Ferrik." And shook her hand. "Now, if you'll please excuse me I have to run back upstairs." She then did just that, and ran up the stairs quickly and entered the bedroom quietly. Shuffling through her drawer she pulled out her brush, toothbrush, and toothpaste. She then exited quietly and ran back down the stairs, careful not to trip as she went.

Upon entering the bathroom Terran took another deep breath and came to rest before the mirror. She ran the brush through her dirty hair and roughly scrubbed her palms over her eyes.

"Are you all right?" Hermione's voice called from the stall next to Terran's.

"Yes thanks." Terran glanced back into the mirror and saw there was now a nice crimson trail reaching nearly to her eyebrow.

"Are you still bleeding?"

"Only slightly." Terran said with a dismissive tone as she entered her stall once more, stripped, and entered the warm water.

"So," Hermione's voice echoed through the bathroom again as she turned on the water in her stall. "How come I never see you in the dorm room Terran?"

"I'm normally in the common room or something, running around and doing assignments."

"Really? I never see you."

"Yeah, sometimes I'm not in our common room. I got to Ravenclaw and Slytherin too."

Hermione dropped something that must have landed on her toe because a sharp "ouch!" quickly followed. "You mean you go into other house common rooms?" Hermione asked with slight disbelief evident.

"Umm, yeah." Terran pumped shampoo from the dispenser into her hand and began scrubbing it into her scalp.

"That's amazing." Hermione said, surprise still echoing in her voice.

"Why? Just because I'm not in their house?"

"Well yeah. Mostly the houses try to keep the entrances to their dorms a secret from other students. And if they say the password in front of you—that's amazing."

"Er—well I guess I'm just a special case then."

"Have you ever been in Hufflepuff common room?"

"No, mostly I just meet my Hufflepuff friends in the library or something."

"Wow, so you have friends in all the other houses too? Even in Slytherin?"

"Yeah." Terran said, slightly uncomfortable. "Anyway Hermione, why are you up so early?"

"I have some more research I want to get done before Charms begins."

"Oh what essay?"

"From Snape, about mugwart. I found out yesterday there are three uses I didn't include in my essay, I want to make sure I get them all into my report."

"You're kind of an addict to research aren't you?" Terran said smiling.

"Shush, I am not. I just don't want to give Snape a reason to count points off my reports. Being Gryffindor you know, he doesn't like giving us the credit we deserve. I don't like giving him reason to doc points."

Terran nodded as she dipped her head into the stream of warm water that cascaded from the showerhead. "So," She said as she worked her fingers through her hair. "You're friends with Ron Weasley and Harry Potter aren't you? I see you sitting with them all the time."

"Yeah. They're amazingly thick though, you'd probably be surprised. We used to get into fights about the stupidest things. In third year I didn't speak to them during almost the whole year because Ron thought my cat ate his rat."

"Wow. That's terrible! You'd think that after being friends for two years and going through the things you'd gone through that he'd be able to forgive you. I mean, I can understand how he'd be upset about loosing his pet and all, but really!" Terran was now working on emulsifying conditioner into her scalp.

Hermione laughed. "Yeah…" She let her voice fade. "It was terrible that year. I was taking so many courses with so much homework…"

"That was the year Ron was attacked by Sirius Black, wasn't it?"

"Yeah."

"Gosh, that would have been really scary. I remember that." She thought for a moment. "But he was finally getting more attention than Harry for once, wasn't he?"

"Yeah. It was really good for him."

"I suspect, being friends with Harry that a lot of people overlook him. He probably gets really sick of it."

"You have no idea." Hermione said with slight strain in her voice. "Mostly he's all right about it, but he was getting really sick of it in Fourth year. Harry had almost no one as his best friend, everyone was so angry with him. But Ron came to his senses."

"That was probably easier for you once they were talking again."

Hermione sighed at the memory. "Yeah. I had been going from one to another and trying to stay friends with the both of them. It was ridiculous."

"But you're all good right now aren't you?"

"Yeah, we're in good shape. But, it is the beginning of the year so… well, you never know." Hermione said as Terran shut off her water, realizing Hermione's had been off for a while. She worked, lazily drying herself off as Hermione's voice again echoed through the empty bathroom. "So, where do you go over the summer? I mean, do you live with your parents or what?"

Terran easily opened her stall door after dressing casually. The jeans hung easily form her hips, the legs being wide and not constricting. Her plain black shirt still clung unceremoniously to her semi-wet torso as she used her towel to ring out her hair again. "Um, I live with my family." Terran said after a moment.

"Your mom and dad?" Hermione asked. "Are they muggles? Mine are, they had no clue about anything concerning the wizarding world until I got my letter." Hermione said, seeming to be cheerful having someone to talk to so early in the morning.

"Er—yeah, they're muggles, but um, they're not my real parents." Terran said, slightly nervous. She anxiously fingered the ring on her fourth finger as she brushed a hand through her damp hair.

"You mean…you were adopted then?" Hermione asked cautiously. This was a subject many people chose to avoid if given the option, and she didn't want to chase Terran away. After all, it was always nice to make new friends.

Terran cleared her throat as she smeared toothpaste on her toothbrush. "Yeah. My mum died when I was two and my dad—" She paused to cough, "left when I was seven. I had to go to a muggle orphanage even though both my parents were from the magical world."

"Oh, Terran I'm sorry. That must have been terrible for you." Hermione said sympathetically after rinsing her mouth.

"It's not your fault. Um, it was kind of hard I guess. My new parents had no idea about the magical world, and when I started talking about it they would just laugh and talk about the crazy stories I made up. After a couple years I began believing they were just stories too—until I found a letter from someone on my dad's side explaining my situation to my new family, dated from the day after they had taken me in. I knew they weren't just stories then—and that the memories I had of my dad bringing people around the house, objects flying around, creatures scurrying around the house—were all real and that I wasn't mental. It was rather comforting actually. Anyway, when I got my letter it was one of the best feelings in the world." She paused to look over at Hermione, who was watching her through the mirror that extended along the entire wall of the bathroom. "I mean, I was getting a chance to return to the world I actually belonged to. I didn't have to worry so much about saying something and having people stair at me as though I'd lost my marbles, you know?"

Hermione grinned at her as she picked up her brush. "I'm sure you'd enjoy a chat with Harry. His guardians are muggles and they absolutely _hate_ anything to do with the wizarding world. He'd probably understand better than I. Mostly for me when I say something about school to my parents they ask me about it so they're not so confused."

Terran watched Hermione struggle to get the brush through her hair. "Do you want some help?" She finally asked when the brush got stuck once more and Hermione sighed exasperatedly.

"Yes please." Hermione said, quite irritated.

"Mostly when I say something my parents look at me for a moment and then go on as though I hadn't said anything at all." She carefully took a strand of hair from the clump of Hermione's head. "I mean, it's not that they don't care or anything, they just don't understand. I tried explaining to them once, but they got so confused I decided it was better just to keep the two worlds separate." The brush slid through easily and Terran took another lock. "Of course that'll all change once I turn 17." She grinned.

Hermione giggled easily from in front of Terran. "Do you have any siblings then?"

Terran's face darkened. "No." She said, adding another lock to the hair that was being brushed. Hermione, taking this as a sign, stayed quiet for a moment. "So, you normally aren't up this early, what's the occasion?"

Hermione's cheeks flushed slightly. "I have a letter to send out that I wrote last night, but I don't want Ron seeing me do it, he'll just bug me about it."

"To a boy?" Terran asked with a slight grin on her face.

"What makes you say that?" Hermione asked, rather bewildered.

"You blushed. I figured it was something that had to do with a guy, seeing how that's usually the response girls get when thinking about a certain guy they like."

Hermione stared at Terran for a moment. "You're pretty smart. What are you getting in your classes?"

"Nuh-uh. Don't go changing the subject Hermione." She flushed again as Terran grinned. "So, who are you writing?"

Hermione blushed furiously for a moment before responding, "Viktor Krum" and lowering her head ever so slightly.

"The Quidditch player?" Terran asked in a slightly interested voice. "Boy, I can see why you'd sneak off early in the morning. I'm sure Ron'd give you a load of trouble, knowing you're writing to him."

Hermione looked up, almost eager to rant to someone about it. "You have no idea." She shifted her standing position as Terran added another lock of hair to the brushed side of Hermione's head, which now had more hair than the tangled side. "Ron always gets so touchy whenever he's mentioned. He still seems to think that Viktor was using me to get closer to Harry and jinx him for the Triwizard Tournament, even though there was nothing to even _suggest_ such a thing." Hermione huffed indignantly.

"He was doing that whole, 'I'm a guy so I have to be protective no matter what my friend actually wants' thing wasn't he?"

"_Yes_!" Hermione said, extremely pleased that someone finally knew what she was talking about. "I swear, that boy is so annoying sometimes. They're so thick, they think just because you're writing to someone that you're dating—honestly! All I ever do is write him letters…well…I mean—I visited him over the summer for a couple days, and it was lovely, but really there's nothing special going on between us!"

"Hey, I'm not the one accusing you of having a romantic relationship with a wizard form another school am I? You just have to make sure Ron and Harry never hear about that, otherwise you'll have a great time trying to explain all that to them. Have fun with that, I mean, boys minds are so weird. They have to be so direct all the time, and if you're not they just go stumbling around in the dark as if they've got no head."

"Exactly! And then you practically have to shove their heads into it in order to make them see and understand." Terran laughed as she finished brushing Hermione's hair.

"There you go then." She set the brush down and went back to the sink to gather her things.

"Hey Terran." The dishwater-blond looked up as she tucked her toothbrush and toothpaste within the folds of her nightclothes for easy-carriage upstairs.

Hermione smiled sweetly. "Want to have breakfast with me today?"

Terran grinned after a moment. "Sure."


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I own nothing! …except Terran.

Sorry, the beginning few chapters are a little slow, but they'll speed up I promise! Something was brought to my attention regarding Terran's name, and I'll tell the reviewer I had no idea that's what "Terran Ferrik" meant, it was just a name I made up. I'm working to keep Terran from becoming a Mary-Sue. Now, read on and enjoy!

Terran nearly choked on her strawberry as Hermione recounted the event of her slapping Malfoy in anger. "I was _so_ fuming mad—I mean, he had been so horrible to poor Hagrid, and he was so _pleased_ with the prospect of killing the innocent creature I just lashed out at him." Hermione continued, grinning at Terran's reactions. She was a very good audience, laughing, gasping, and glowering at all the appropriate points, and Hermione was immensely enjoying her company. Terran had been trading stories with her all morning from her five previous years a Hogwarts as well, although she was much keener on hearing the stories than telling.

Hermione verbally admitted to enjoying Terran's company after a moment when she paused to take a sip of orange juice. "I mean, Ron and Harry are great, but it get annoying you know? Just being around guys all the time. Some feminine company is nice for once." Hermione confided in Terran, who smiled appreciatively.

" Are they going to be angry I kind of stole you away this morning?" Terran asked, a little anxious.

"Oh no," Hermione said, waving the very thought away with her hand. "They'd be pleased with the idea of having another girl in their company. Besides they're still sleeping."

"Who's still sleeping?" Harry asked as he slid into the vacant spot on the bench opposite Hermione and Terran, quickly followed by Ron.

"I thought you were, but I suppose I was wrong." Hermione gave a kind of 'oh well' glance to Terran, who grinned sheepishly, before taking another sip of Orange Juice. "Harry, Ron, this is my new friend Terran. Terran, this is Harry and Ron." Hermione introduced.

The boys stopped serving themselves breakfast to look up at Terran and grin. "It's nice to meet you." Terran said politely, looking pointedly at Ron, who gave the faintest sign of a blush and grinned back.

"Likewise." He said before scooping a forkful of eggs into his mouth. Harry nodded, as he was already chewing hungrily on a piece of toast.

Over the summer both boys had changed from what Terran remembered. Ron's flaming hair was now so long that he could effectively pull it back into a ponytail, something Terran admittedly favored about guys. Most of his baby-fat had been eaten away by a year of Quidditch practice, leaving his body lean and lithe from constant exercise and conditioning. He definitely looked better in clothes that fit him as well, jeans and a worn blue shirt that fit him nicely, just barely giving a hint at the muscle hidden beneath the cloth. Enough of a hint to peak Terran's interest anyway.

Harry on the other hand, looked much the same. He also now had clothes that weren't too big for him, a pair of khaki pants and a green shirt that matched amazingly well with his eyes were donned on his body today. His hair was as wild as ever, although slightly darker so it was closer to a midnight black, the strong contrast between it and his eyes made the brilliant green even more evident. His glasses had finally been abandoned for contacts, and Terran could in no way object to the change. She had nothing against a guy with glasses of course, but she always found them obtrusive when trying to look into a persons eyes, especially since light could catch on them and completely block out a persons eye as the light was reflected.

Hermione on the other hand, had changed quite a bit. Her hair was not nearly as bushy has it had been, but now settled for being curly, and spilled down her back beautifully and framed her face nicely. With the shrinking of her teeth a couple years ago her teeth were straight and, of course, quite white from good dental care. She wore a light yellow sweater over a white shirt and a summer French skirt decorated with the pattern of yellow sunflowers elegantly placed on the flowy-material.

"You have Transfiguration with us don't you?" Ron asked after swallowing lightly and grasping a flaggon of Pumping Juice.

Terran nodded after a moment, snapped form her thoughts and observations of the three around her. "I usually sit in the back, or around there."

"Why?" Harry asked. "I remember last year that you could transfigure just about anything before the end of the second day."

Terran blushed slightly. "Um, I don't like to draw attention to myself." She said a little uneasily, nibbling on a piece of cantaloupe.

"Huh." Ron said after a moment. "That's kind of strange. I thought all girls liked the focus being on them."

Hermione glowered at him, but he grinned. "Relax Mione'. You know I was joking." He turned to Terran. "So then I don't suppose you'd be keen on sitting with us during class would you?"

"Um—" Terran was quite taken aback by this invitation. She hadn't been expecting Ron to invite her to anything else. And even though Hermione had said she had enjoyed Terran's company she didn't think it would go much further than today. "Sure, why not?" She said after a moment.

"Oh wonderful!" Hermione said excitedly. "I was going to mention it to you, but Ron beat me to it." She turned to Terran with a smile, who grinned back almost shyly. She turned back to her food as Ron and Harry began discussing Quidditch and caught Ron's eye long enough for him to wink at her before Hermione indulged her in conversation again.

"Today we will be working with birds, transfiguring them into stones. The incantation is, '_Epopes Calculus',_ I expect you all to at least make some progress today. Now your birds' wings have been clipped, so you should not need to spend any time chasing them about the room. Come come now, get your birds—don't be silly Claire they're not going to hurt you."

Professor McGonagall came around with cage of birds, allowing students to reach in and choose their own victim. Hermione and Terran had taken a table of their own since there was usually only space for two people to sit. Harry and Ron had the table in front of them, each all ready trying to transfigure their bird.

"_Epopes Calculus!"_ Was shouted around the room several times by a couple people while everyone else worked on screwing up their concentration and energy.

"_Epopes Calculus."_ Hermione said after a moment, but nothing happened and the pigeon continued to bob its head as he walked around the table. "Oh, what a shame. I was so focused on being able to do it on my first try. But Transfiguration has always been one of my hardest courses. I only got a E for my O.W.L. last year." Hermione said, breaking off to try transfiguring her bird once more. He stopped walking for a moment, but then a second later continued his bobbing trail.

"Well that's all right isn't it? I mean, that's what you needed in order to get into this class right?" Terran tried comfortingly.

"Well, yes but I feel like I'm just as good as everyone else in here." Hermione said, irritated as she attempted the charm again.

"Well that's good though, isn't it? Now you have to really work hard to become better." Terran said. Hermione stopped for a moment and looked at her.

"Why aren't you trying to turn your bird?"

Terran sat up straighter, as though it hadn't occurred to her she wasn't fulfilling the days requirements. She looked to her raven. "I like to watch them for a while, get used to how they move. I find that sometimes that helps." She shrugged. "Besides, I don't much fancy turning this gorgeous bird—" He cawed appreciatively, "into a stone. It reminds me too much of Sleeping Beauty, you know, when the faeries turn the witches bird into stone? I always felt really bad for it."

Hermione giggled at the memory. "Yeah, but I always thought he got what he deserved." She took another jab at the spell and its toe nails turned to stone. "Oh good!" She looked to Terran. "Why don't you try now? Just so that McGonagall doesn't think you're slacking or anything."

Terran sighed. "All right." She picked up her wand with a lazy hand. "_Epopes Calculus_." She said, and when nothing happened she shrugged and turned back to Hermione.

"Oh please Terran, I know you weren't really trying on that. Do it again. Why are you holding back?"

Terran glanced at her uneasily for a moment. "You really want me to do it full-on?"

"Yes."

She sighed again. Closing her eyes for a moment she focused her energy, then opening them slowly she focused on her raven. "Sorry," She said quietly, he cawed respectively, then, in a much stronger voice, "_Epopes Calculus!_"

The bird froze, and for a moment Hermione thought it had been just like her first attempt, where nothing happened. But then she saw the feet turn gray, and watched it crawl up his body as though he were slowly being pushed into water, and she watched with amazement as it reached up to his wings and stopped halfway up his breast, so only his top half remained actual bird. Terran said the incantation once more and he turned fully to stone.

"Terran," Hermione said breathlessly.

"I couldn't just let him stay half-stone like that… I mean, he wouldn't be able to breathe properly." Terran said unhappily.

"Terran, how did you do that?" Hermione was staring at her.

"Um, I asked McGonagall what we were doing and she told me. So I went to the library and looked up the incantation. I found a mouse and practiced on it all night until I could do it. But mice are different from birds, so it took me longer…" Terran shifted uncomfortably.

"You must be really serious about whatever you're doing after school," Hermione began, but just then Harry turned around.

"Wow Hermione! You did it all ready!"

"No, it's Terran's." Hermione said, grinning at the girl next to her, who was blushing slightly.

"You turned yours into stone all ready?" Harry asked with a disbelieving tone. Terran nodded slightly and ducked her head down to fiddle with her fingers.

"Well done Ms. Ferrik. Twenty points to Gryffindor." McGonagall said with a slight smile to the blond.

"Thanks Professor." Terran said shyly. McGonagall then waved her wand, returning the bird to its original physic.

"Ms. Ferrik, might I see you up front?" Terran nodded, her brow creased as she stood up. "Back to work the rest of you." The class, who had all been watching McGonagall and Terran walk to the front of the class turned back to their birds and attempted to make them stone again.

Hermione, Harry, and Ron watched as they tried to make their birds stone. McGonagall was bent very low over her desk, speaking with a strict face to Terran, who made several hand gestures and nodded her head after the Professor had said something, then kept her head bent down as McGonagall continued speak. Her eyes moved past Terran to Harry, Hermione, and Ron and she said something else to Terran as the three worked to make it look as though they weren't watching the conversation.

Terran looked up at something McGonagall said and moved her head quickly in disagreement, but McGonagall raised a hand and spoke again. She looked at Terran with a steely gaze, and after a moment Terran nodded and returned to the table.

"What did she want?" Harry and Ron asked immediately upon her return.

Terran smiled slightly. "Just stuff like she doesn't want me holding back in class anymore. But she's not going to tell me what we're doing beforehand, because it might be seen as favoritism to some people," she shot a glance at Draco Malfoy who was three rows ahead of them, "Essentially that she wants me to keep trying just the same."

Hermione grinned. "That's great Terran." And they turned back to their birds.


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: It's not mine, okay? Only Terran is. Everything else is J.K. Rowlings. And I cry at night because of it.

Double Potions. Harry and Ron had a look of utter distaste on their faces. Snape had just informed them that they were to be brewing a potion that would enable them to understand any tongue spoken to them. Harry, who had been receiving very poor grades last year and was only accepted into potions because of his good O.W.L. grade, begged Hermione to sit next to him in order to help him do well on the first potion of the year. She had, of course, agreed, and sat at a table with Harry. Ron and Terran took the table behind them and read over everything needed then gathered the appropriate ingredients needed.

As expected from Snape, the potion was amazingly complicated:

_1 pint of Dragon Blood_

_4 oz. Mugwart_

_Stir clockwise for six rotations_

_Let sit until 76 degrees_

_Stir counterclockwise for 45 seconds_

_Lower flame to second degree_

_Add 1 oz. May-apple_

_Add 1 1/8th unicorn hair_

Stir clockwise for 56 seconds 

It went on like that for two chalkboards. Ron groaned. "This is impossible!" He turned to Terran who was all ready measuring out her Dragon Blood. "Are you any good at Potions?" He asked her helplessly.

Terran smiled at him. "It's my best class."

"Really?" Ron asked excitedly. "Wow, you must be really good, considering how well you did today in Transfiguration."

Terran blushed and shook her head. "I'm really not that good, I just asked McGonagall what we were going to be working on today after I saw her in the hallway after Lunch. She told me, so I spent the rest of the day working on it until I could totally transfigure the mouse I was working on. Birds are a little different. I'm really not that good." She finished easily as she dropped in the mugwart and began stirring. "You'd better get started if you want to finish today." She added.

He groaned again. "Will you help me?" He asked as he began measuring out the Dragon Blood on their table.

Terran grinned. "Sure." He gave her a grateful smile and dumped the blood into his cauldron.

"Your potion should now be dark brown and emitting a red vapor," Snape said as he moved around the room. Ron looked at his potion and grinned, it wasn't _exactly_ red, there was some orange in the steam, but he couldn't get too many points off for that.

He filled it into a flask and as he passed Terran to take it to the front he paused next to her ear and whispered, "You're amazing."

Terran's cheeks flushed a deep red as she paused to stop from spilling her own potion. Then, after a moment she filled the rest up and corked it. The colour faded quickly from her cheeks as she looked up to see Draco Malfoy staring at her intensely, a look of disgust evident in his eyes. She tilted her head at him. Why should he look at her like that? She shook her head and moved to the front of the room.

Ron, Harry, Hermione, and Terran all slumped down at the table, laughing heartily. They had just seen Crabbe and Goyle get yelled at by McGonagall for shoving a second year into the wall and rummaging through his pockets, obviously looking for sweets. They had both been given detention for giving the poor kid a bloody nose and threatening him not to tell any teachers.

"I hope that boy's all right. I can't believe no one went to help him." Hermione said, taking a break from laughing and clutching her stomach.

"Well didn't you see?" Terran asked breathlessly as she reached to pour herself a glass of apple juice. "Everyone in that hall was a fourth year or younger. I mean, they're not going to challenge a sixth year are they? That'd be like—suicide." She drank thirstily from her cup.

"Yeah, not to mention—" Ron began darkly, but Hermione stepped on his toe. He coughed suddenly, "Not to mention he's enormous. I doubt any of the spells they know at that age would be able to bring him down." He looked at Hermione. Terran pretended not to notice.

"Yeah, we didn't learn stunning spells until around the end of fourth year didn't we?"

"With Mad-eye Moody!" Ron said. Harry coughed.

"Are you guys getting sick or something?" Terran asked, strained irritation in her voice.

"What?" Harry asked innocently. "No, not at all." Then buried his face into a steak and kidney pie.

"Thanks again for helping me today in Potions, Terran." Ron said easily as he served himself some mashed potatoes.

"No problem." She winked at him.

"Jeez." Hermione said from beside Terran.

"What?"

"Malfoy is staring daggers at you." She looked to Terran, who looked to Malfoy. Terran tilted her head towards him, then, to the shock of those around her, lifted her hand to her lips and blew him a kiss.

"What the hell are you doing?" Harry asked, choking on his pie.

Terran laughed. "He's such a stuck up jerk. And he thinks he's so gorgeous just because that cow of a girl, Pansy, is always hanging off his arm. I figure a kiss from a Gryffindor, even a fake kiss, would shake him up." She laughed again and looked over to Malfoy, whose head was now firmly down and a slight tinge of pink was resting on his pale cheeks. "And apparently I was right."

Harry and Ron whipped around, looking at Malfoy, then howled with laughter and looked back at Terran. "That's hilarious." Harry said as he paused to take a deep breath. Terran smiled at them before serving herself some salad.

._"It must be done. I must have it." A cold, high-pitched voice filled the room_

_"She will not allow you, Master." _

_Darkness. An inky blackness filled the room, only broken occasionally by torches that hung on the walls. Water dripped somewhere far away. _

_"She will in time." Boots echoed on the stone ground and splashed through a puddle on the ground. They stopped suddenly, a cloak ruffled. "Crucio." The cold voice echoed again._

_Squealing—a rat squeaked in agony as the spell was inflicted upon it. Flickering firelight caught a white hand that was suddenly extended out of the cloak. The first finger, decorated with a nail that extended half an inch off the finger, bent slowly. Squeaking again echoed off the grimy walls. It finally stopped as something cracked. "Accio." The voice said calmly. A rat flew from the ground into that pale hand. _

_Wide eyes glazed over with death shone from its head. Its back was bent drastically back; the crack that had been heard only moments later belonged to the breaking of the rodents' spine. _

_Cold laughter…_

"Where's Terran?" Harry asked sleepily.

"She said she had to ask McGonagall something this morning." Hermione shrugged. "Harry, you look terrible. Are you all right?"

"I didn't sleep well last night." He said as he rubbed his eye.

"Are you having dreams again?" Hermione asked, her voice low. Harry shook his head.

"I don't remember. I feel like I should have dreamed something last night, but I don't remember…" He put his head in his hands for a moment.

"You weren't talking at all last night in your sleep, mate." Ron said soothingly.

"Was he tossing or turning anymore than usual?" Hermione asked. Ron shook his head and grabbed some toast. "Well then I wouldn't worry about it. Maybe it just wasn't a good sleep night, Terran said she wasn't feeling too well this morning either."

"What's wrong with her?"

"Why don't you ask her?" Harry said, nodding towards the door.

Terran did indeed look ill. Her face was pale and dark bags hung under her eyes, which were bloodshot. Her brow was creased as though she was still thinking about something important, and she fiddled with her hands as she walked between tables, gesturing jerkily with her hands as though she were arguing with herself about something.

She glanced up, and upon seeing Harry, Ron, and Hermione sitting at the table looking at her, her face smoothed and she smiled. "Good morning." She greeted them.

"Hey, how are you feeling?" Hermione asked after a quick glance to Ron, who was now busy shifting his eggs around his plate.

"Fine, just didn't sleep well that's all. My back is kind of sore." Terran admitted, then without further ado, braced herself against the table and twisted so back cracked violently. Then, turning the other way it cracked several more times.

Harry and Ron looked at her with shock. "That's disgusting." Harry finally said. Terran grinned, then, picking up a spoon she looked at herself.

"What's disgusting is how I look right now." She pulled out her wand and tapped the skin under her eyes gently once, then watched as the darkness faded and the skin became her usual colour.

"That's cool." Hermione said appreciatively. "Where did you learn it?"

"One of my friends from Ravenclaw. She's not a big girly-girl but she doesn't like looking horrible either. She thinks make-up is a waste of money, so she just does it magically." Then, putting her spoon down she served herself some fruit.

"Mail's here." Ron observed as the rush of normal owls flew into the room. A Screech Owl landed in front of Hermione and stuck out its leg for her to take off the delivery of the Daily Prophet and stick a Knut into the pouch on its leg.

"Anything interesting?" Harry asked, glancing up at Hermione.

"Nah, just the usual stuff—you know, good defensive spells for the home, pointers on patronus's…no new news on the Death Eaters." Terran watched them with slight interest as Harry and Ron both glanced up to the head table towards Snape, who was finishing his breakfast and then exited the main hall.

A Barn Owl landed easily in front of Terran. "What's this?" She asked, glancing at the owl, then at the letter on it's leg.

_Terran Ferrik_. "It's for you." Ron said, looking at her. Terran's brow creased as she took off the envelope and opened the letter. Her eyes opened the slightest as she read on, then folded the better and shoved it into the pocket of her robes.

"What was it?" Harry asked.

"Just a letter from my mum." Terran shrugged. "I should go write her back." She grabbed a slice of toast and stood, "See you all in Charms." Then with a wave she quickly exited the hall.

The three remaining looked at each other and shrugged. "Hey, look at that." Hermione said, gesturing to the table behind them. "Malfoy's leaving too." Her eyes narrowed.

"There's a girl from Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff leaving too." Ron observed. "They've got letters too…"

"So does Malfoy…" They all looked at each other again.

"Do you think it has anything to do with Terran?" Harry asked.

"I don't know." Hermione admitted. "Terran said she's got friends from the other houses, maybe they're just meeting."

"But then why would she lie to us?" Ron asked.

"Well, maybe it's just coincidence." Harry suggested.

"Right, we have no reason to be suspicious of Terran. For all we know she has no reason to lie to us." Hermione nodded pointedly to Harry and Ron, then turned back to her breakfast.


End file.
